New Scion FR-S convertible goes Miata hunting

Originally published: March 1, 2013

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

If we conveniently forget about weak attempts like General Motors’ Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky roadsters from a few years back, Mazda’s MX-5 (nee Miata) has had the small, rear-wheel-drive roadster market to itself since it arrived in 1990.

But not anymore. What you’re looking at above is a leaked image of Toyota’s Geneva auto show-bound FT-86 Open concept from ft86club.com.

The Toyota roadster show car is a precursor to a production version that will more than likely be sold in Canada as a Scion FR-S ragtop. To save weight and space, the FT-86 Open uses a powered soft-top. It also keeps the existing hardtop’s virtually useless pair of rear seats.

We expect the Scion version to go on-sale in Canada within the next 12 months.